Conventional inflatable sport balls, such as soccer balls, basketballs, footballs, volleyballs and playground balls, may contain a foam layer or layers under the cover layer(s), but the foam layer, if present, is traditionally a layer of foam material that is of uniform thickness and composition. There is no way to control or improve the ball's performance, such as rebound, with the uniform foam layer.
Additionally, conventional inflatable sport balls, such as basketballs, footballs, soccer balls, volleyballs and playground balls, are traditionally inflated through an inflation valve using a separate inflation needle that is inserted into and through a self-sealing inflation valve. A separate pump, such as a traditional bicycle pump, is connected to the inflation needle and the ball is inflated using the pump. The inflation needle is then withdrawn from the inflation valve which self-seals to maintain the pressure. This system works fine until the sport ball needs inflation or a pressure increase and a needle and/or pump are not readily available. A sport ball having maximum performance that also has a self-contained inflation mechanism to add air to the sport ball is needed in the art. For some sport balls, a cover, such as a panel or other portion, over the self-contained inflation mechanism is also desirable. What is needed in the art is a sport ball where the performance characteristics can be altered as desired.